Debra B. Bergoffen - Contesting the Politics of Genocidal Rape: Affirming the Dignity of the Vulnerable Body

1 Economics of the Family and

Family Policies

Edited by Inga Persson and

Christina Jonung

2 Womens Work and Wages

Edited by Inga Persson and

Christina Jonung

3 Rethinking Households

An Atomistic Perspective on

European Living Arrangements

Michel Verdon

4 Gender, Welfare State and

the Market

Thomas P Boje and Arnlaug Leira

5 Gender, Economy and Culture

in the European Union

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Effi nger

6 Body, Femininity and

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Girls in the German Youth

Movement 19001935

Marion E P de Ras

7 Women and the Labour-Market

Self-employment as a Route to

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8 Victorias Daughters

The Schooling of Girls in Britain

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9 Homosexuality, Law and

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10 Sex Differences in Labor Markets

David Neumark

11 Women, Activism and Social

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12 The Gender of Democracy

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13 Female Homosexuality in the

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14 Global Empowerment of Women

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15 Child Abuse, Gender and Society

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16 Gendering Global

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17 Gender, Race and

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18 Intimate Citizenships

Gender, Sexualities, Politics

Elzbieta H. Oleksy

19 A Philosophical Investigation

of Rape

The Making and Unmaking

of the Feminine Self

Louise du Toit

20 Migrant Men

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21 Theorizing Sexual Violence

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22 Inclusive Masculinity

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23 Understanding Non-Monogamies

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24 Transgender Identities

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26 Migration, Domestic

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27 Overcoming Objectifi cation

A Carnal Ethics

Ann J. Cahill

28 Intimate Partner Violence

in LGBTQ Lives

Edited by Janice L. Ristock

29 Contesting the Politics of

Genocidal Rape

Affi rming the Dignity of the

Vulnerable Body

Debra B. Bergoffen

First published 2012

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Simultaneously published in the UK

by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2012 Taylor & Francis

The right of Debra B. Bergoffen to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free paper by IBT Global.

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Bergoffen, Debra B.

Contesting the politics of genocidal rape : affirming the dignity of the vulnerable body / by Debra B. Bergoffen. 1st ed.

p. cm. (Routledge research in gender and society ; 29)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. RapeBosnia and Hercegovina. 2. Yugoslav War, 19911995Atrocities 3. Rape victimsBosnia and Hercegovina. 4. Sex crimesBosnia and Hercegovina. I. Title.

HV6569.B54B47 2012

364.1532dc23

2011018655

ISBN: 978-0-415-89127-1 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-34013-4 (ebk)

I owe much to the many people who have taken the time and trouble to read my work and critique my ideas. I am especially grateful for the friendship and encouragement of Gail Weiss, Ellen Feder, Robin Schott, Louise Du Toit. My debt to Claire Moses is beyond measure. Many of these chapters had their beginnings in workshops and at conferences. The give and take at these events was invaluable to me as I tested concepts and explored the issues raised here. My gratitude to the Philosophy Department at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, for inviting me to spend a term there, to Michael Staudigl for organizing the Faces of Violence seminar at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and to Regina Muehlhaeuser and Gaby Zipfel for their invaluable work at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research and for organizing conferences in war time sexual violence. Each of these venues provided intellectual and personal settings for people from diverse disciplines to push the boundaries of thought as we confronted the complexities of gendered aggression and violence. My thanks to colleagues, students and friends at George Mason University who, over the many years of my tenure there, supported my work, pushed my ideas, shared lunches, dinners and glasses of wine. My appreciation to Shelley Harshe of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University for her grace, advice and troubleshooting. Andafter all is said and doneto Bob for sharing my life and anchoring it in the quiet passion of his love.